Refurbished iMac not so refurbished!

[flyfish29]

Beware, I just received a 17" 1Ghz iMac that was supposedly refurbished by the factory and yet the thing came to me with a very dirty mouse, keyboard, and LCD screen (adhesive residue on the mouse and keyboard).

I have a problem with the fan making a loud racket at all times. Also, the screen won't let me keep it adjusted at all angles/heights. Basically I have to either have the flat panel adjusted all the way up or all the way down.

After talking with several Apple representatives in all departments and being on hold for over an hour we determined maybe the computer hadn't been entirely refurbished after all. I am returning this one and they are going to send me another refurbished one instead of fixing it as I was leary of that due to the fact it looks as if they didn't totally test this thing completely.

Obviously this has been a complete hassle and I am very frustrated. Had I not already been a very die hard Mac fan I probably would have just returned it for a refund.

OH yeah, I forgot, the support sheet they included with the computer said to call the main Apple representative number to take care of a defective or DOA computer. Yet, after waiting on hold for 28 minutes they told me I had to talk to technical support and have a case number before they could help me, so that was yet another 21 minute hold. Then, after talking with Tech. support I learned I had to then wait 19 minutes for a post-support specialist to finish the return/new order.

So you might think twice about the refurbished program. I am going to try another one, but if I have any major problems they are getting it back!

Johnny

 

[Makosuke]

Apple's refurbs, like any used product, are probably a bit hit and miss. I just bought a refurb 12" PB for a friend, though, and the thing was indistinguishable good as new save for a tiny bit of dirt on the case. Same goes for an iBook my brother bought a while ago, and a refurb G4 iMac I bought for a client about a year back.

It's a roll of the dice for the thrifty.

 

[Freg3000]

When I read the title, i thought it was a good news story. Many times, after an update (like the iMacs just were) Apple puts the old models in the Refub Store to get rid of the old inventory. So many times the "refub" machines are new.

Sorry this wasn't your experience. Good Luck.

 

[tomf87]

My coworker bought a 1Ghz 17" iMac and it was supposed to have 256MB of RAM, but instead it came with 512MB. Lucky him.

However, his machine has given him no problems whatsoever, so I have to agree with the earlier post that it is a "roll of the dice". But hey, at least they are replacing it for free.

 

[djtet]

sorry to hear about your experience with apple refurbished...i just ordered a ref. DP G4 1.25 and i just went home on my lunch break and opened it. the exterior, and interior, look fine. There was some small smudges on the Mirror Doors...but that's no problem. Hopefully when i put it to use it will work fine, but we won't find out til later tonight! what i did though, was take pictures of everything inside and outside of the box. better safe than sorry!

 

[sigamy]

Just got my 17" 1ghz iMac yesterday. I couldn't set it up until 11pm. Plugged it in and...3 beeps, no boot up, nothing on the LCD.

I searched Apple's KB and it says 3 beeps means that the machine can not find any good memory. I have not installed memory (I just got the machine) so it must be the factory installed RAM. The article says it could even be the logic board.

Apple Care was closed so I need to call tonight. I'm dying here!

If the tech can't bring this thing to life I'm going to request a new unit. Then I'm going to purchase Apple Care!

I guess it is possible for something like this to happen in transit but it seems strange. I hope Apple just had a bad day with a few refurbs and that the next unit I get serves me for a few years.

 

[flyfish29]

Originally posted by sigamy

If the tech can't bring this thing to life I'm going to request a new unit. Then I'm going to purchase Apple Care!
.

wow, sounds like yours didn't go through the proper channels either. Maybe someone had a bad day! My two cents on the Apple CAre is this: Generally if something hardware based is going to go wrong in the early lifespan of an electronics product, it will happen within the first year. If you think back to most of the people you know that have had issues with hardware I bet most of it happens in the first year as things that are defective in manufacture break...then other problems tend to happen in the fourth and fifth years as things wear out. There have been numerous studies done on electronics products to this fact. That is why many extended care programs are only three years, because any longer you are replacing things that are wearing out from long term use and not defective. In addition, the second and third year generally sees very little hardware issues. It is a proven fact these warrenty programs are big cash cows for companies, that is why they often can afford to pay salespeople stipends to sell more of them, which is why everyone under the sun offers the programs. I have bought three of these extended warrenties and never had to use them. There was one time that I didn't buy one and wish I had. However, if you look at the big picture in relation to money I would have spent on these Extra Care Progrmas for my camera, computer, TV, stereo, etc. it would really add up. If for some reason one was to break in the second or third year I could have taken the money that I didn't put into the Care Programs and paid for the thing to be repaired or even replaced and still have money left over.

the other thing to keep in mind is that some of these programs are designed to give the company many ways out of paing for the repair, some only cover labor or parts, but not both, some make you do regular maintence or else the warrenty is void. I know there were many VCR manufacturers/retailers that sold extra warrenties but if you din't have the machine professionally cleaned every x nubmer of months it would void the warrenty on the heads and all moving mechanisms in the machine, which is basically the only thing that could go wrong with a VCR. Brake companies do this as well on ther warrenties for car brakes.

Anyway, just read the fine print and weigh all the benefits with the costs and you will probably save yourself lots of money.

John

 

[tristan]

refurb TiBook

I bought a refurb TiBook earlier this year and its awesome. No problems. Well, one intermittent dead pixel, but that's pretty standard nowadays.

I'm sorry to hear about your iMac, but I'm sure Apple will make it right, and in the end, you'll still get a heck of a deal on your machine.

 

[djtet]

hooked up...

I got my refurb DP G4 1.25 all hooked up now. Only had to force quit iphoto once or twice (not sure, but probably compatibility with my card reader?). Other than that, everything seems to be working fine. Just gotta get used to OSX cause I'm a long time 9 user.

So flyfish29, did everything get taken care of?

 

[flyfish29]

Re: hooked up...

Originally posted by djtet

So flyfish29, did everything get taken care of?

Yes, so far. After talking with Apple it was obviousl this one didn't go all the way through the channels of refurb. so I had them send another one, luckily they had one left. They had Fed Ex come and pick up the old one at my home and once I had the tracking number all I did was call apple and give them the numbers. Then they released the new computer to be shippped even before they had received the old one. For all they know, I could have sent an iMac box full of coal with Fed Ex. ( NO, I really didn't do this as they know where I live and all They sent the new iMac next day (Sat. delivery with Fed Ex), but unfortunately Fed Ex delivery in town here is not reliable so I didn't receive it unitl late Monday. But as far as Apple goes, this computer looks like it was completly refurb. and they defiinately took care of me with the priority shipping.

Have not had time to power this one up, but expect it to run well. Will keep you posted. (no pun intended here)

Johnny

 

[TimDaddy]

Wow! My first Mac was a refurbished 450mhz Bondi Blue iMac DV back in November of 2000. I couldn't tell it from a new one. (Until several weeks later when I noticed that they didn't have a white Apple logo on the sides. The previous owner had put his sticker on it. Looked nice.) Anyway, it is now my son's and it is in his room going strong, despite the abuse that a five/six year old can subject it to. From my experience, and the ones I read about here, I think you just had bad luck. I'm glad you seem happy with the second one.

Even Lexus can build a lemon, they just build a lot less of them than Kia.

 

[realityisterror]

i hope it was just bad luck, because i just bought my first computer as a refurb:

15" iMac 800MHz
256MB RAM (256 more from crucial)
60GB HD
Combo Drive
Airport Card
etc.
etc.

About $1145 total which is pretty good considering it was $1299 for the iMac alone 3 weeks ago!
I hope it's in good condition as I a)was strongly urged to buy new and not refurb by my parents and b)I saved up for about 14 months!!!

i'm so excited because the iMac was supposed to ship in 1-2 days but it already has (i ordered 7:09AM this morning.)



Reality

 

[fraeone]

I saved up for about 14 months!!!

Wow you have more patience than me. I have been saving for about 1 month and I'm eyeing my credit card

fraeone